Best Time To Visit Lombok

June is dry, clear and comfortable, and the strongest month for the beaches and the Rinjani foothills alike.

July is dry but crowded, and it is when the Gili Air crossings get rough on a southerly swell. Rough seas here are a July and August problem, not a wet-season one.

August is the driest and busiest month, and the one to book earliest. The southerly swell that unsettles the Gili crossings is still running through it.

September keeps the dry weather, calms the sea and drops the crowds. On balance it is the best month of the year to come.

October is the last of the dry weather and usually still fine, with showers building towards the end of the month.

November turns properly wet, and the inland roads to the waterfalls and the Rinjani trailheads get difficult. Perang Topat, the rice-cake festival at Pura Lingsar, usually falls in November or December.

December and January are the wettest months of the year. Storms are heavy but usually short, so mornings are more usable than the monthly totals suggest.

If your dates are fixed here, nowhere in Indonesia is dry, but Phu Quoc in Vietnam is in the middle of its dry season through both months.

February is wet and humid, and the water off the Gilis is often too churned up for good snorkelling.

March improves through the month. Late March is a fair compromise: green landscapes, low prices, and the dry season only weeks away. Ubud pairs well with it.

For a Rinjani trek, plan on June to September, and check the national park's own status before booking. The route closes over the wet season and the reopening date moves from year to year.

For the water, September and October are the calmest months, since the swell that troubles the Gili and Nusa Penida crossings peaks in July and August.